State Education
State Education is a data page on the Education desk of Glassbox Auditing. Every state's schools, teachers, spending, NAEP results and graduation rates against its own history and the other states, beside each state's income, unemployment and growth. Schools are the largest item in state and local budgets and supply the future workforce.
Last updated: .
What is on this page today?
- 22.0% of public-school students were chronically absent in 2025-26, unchanged on 2024-25 — FutureEd's national estimate from state agencies' counts, 24 states reporting 2025-26; each state defines absence its own way (FutureEd (Georgetown), Tracking State Trends in Chronic Absenteeism, 29 Jun 2026)
- Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher: 37.4% nationally (2025), +0.5 points on 2024 — Survey year · records from 2012 (Census ACS table B15003 (educational attainment), 30 Dec 2025)
- 90.6% of adults 25 and over had at least a high-school diploma in 2025, +0.7 points on 2024 — American Community Survey 1-year estimate · records from 2012 (Census ACS table B15003, 30 Dec 2025)
- District of Columbia had the largest share of adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 64.9% in 2025 — District of Columbia -0.5 points on 2024 (65.5%) · U.S. 37.4% · 50 states and DC reporting · across 50 states and DC the share and median household income have a correlation of +0.82 (an association, not proof that one… (Census ACS table B15003, 30 Dec 2025)
- 99,073 public schools operating in 2024-25; 866 opened and 1,064 closed that year — 99,297 in 2023-24 · charter schools are 8.1% of them (+0.1 points on 2023-24) · 3.21 million full-time-equivalent teachers in 2023-24 (NCES Common Core of Data, 29 Jun 2025)
- Utah had the most students per teacher: 21.8 in 2024-25 — Utah -1.1% on 2023-24 (22.1) · 49 states and DC reporting (NCES Common Core of Data, 29 Jun 2025)
- Public-school enrolment fell most in West Virginia: down 13.6% from 2014-15 to 2024-25 — 242,155 students in 2024-25 · U.S. -2.0% · 5 largest falls of 50 states and DC (NCES Common Core of Data, 29 Jun 2025)
- Grade 8 math: at or above NAEP Proficient: 26.9% nationally (2024), +1.4 points on 2022 — Spring the test was given · records from 2003 (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card (NAEP Data Service), 30 Dec 2024)
- Grade 4 reading: at or above NAEP Proficient: 30.5% nationally (2024), -1.6 points on 2022 — Spring the test was given · records from 2003 (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card (NAEP Data Service), 30 Dec 2024)
- Grade 8 reading: at or above NAEP Proficient: 28.7% nationally (2024), -0.8 points on 2022 — Spring the test was given · records from 2003 (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card (NAEP Data Service), 30 Dec 2024)
- Current spending per student: $17,619 nationally (2024), +7% on 2023 — Fiscal year ending that summer (the school year starting the autumn before) · records from 1994 (NCES/Census school-district finance (F-33), 30 Dec 2024)
- Public-school students (pre-K to 12): 49,034,047 nationally (2024), -0.4% on 2023 — School year starting that autumn · records from 1986 (NCES Common Core of Data, 30 Dec 2024)
- Massachusetts: 37.2% of public-school 8th graders at or above Proficient in NAEP math (2024), highest of 50 states and DC — +2.1 points on 2022 (35.1%) · national public 26.9% (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, 30 Dec 2024)
- New Jersey: 36.8% of public-school 8th graders at or above Proficient in NAEP math (2024), 2nd highest of 50 states and DC — +3.6 points on 2022 (33.1%) · national public 26.9% (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, 30 Dec 2024)
- Wisconsin: 36.5% of public-school 8th graders at or above Proficient in NAEP math (2024), 3rd highest of 50 states and DC — +3.3 points on 2022 (33.2%) · national public 26.9% (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, 30 Dec 2024)
- Utah: 35.1% of public-school 8th graders at or above Proficient in NAEP math (2024), 4th highest of 50 states and DC — +0.6 points on 2022 (34.5%) · national public 26.9% (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, 30 Dec 2024)
- Alabama: 18.4% of public-school 8th graders at or above Proficient in NAEP math (2024), 4th lowest of 50 states and DC — -0.3 points on 2022 (18.7%) · national public 26.9% (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, 30 Dec 2024)
- West Virginia: 17.8% of public-school 8th graders at or above Proficient in NAEP math (2024), 3rd lowest of 50 states and DC — +2.7 points on 2022 (15.1%) · national public 26.9% (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, 30 Dec 2024)
- Oklahoma: 17.4% of public-school 8th graders at or above Proficient in NAEP math (2024), 2nd lowest of 50 states and DC — +1.4 points on 2022 (15.9%) · national public 26.9% (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, 30 Dec 2024)
- New Mexico: 13.9% of public-school 8th graders at or above Proficient in NAEP math (2024), lowest of 50 states and DC — +1.3 points on 2022 (12.7%) · national public 26.9% (NAEP, the Nation's Report Card, 30 Dec 2024)
Where does the data come from?
Items on this page come from FutureEd (Georgetown), Tracking State Trends in Chronic Absenteeism; Census ACS table B15003 (educational attainment); Census ACS table B15003; NCES Common Core of Data; NAEP, the Nation's Report Card (NAEP Data Service); NCES/Census school-district finance (F-33); NAEP, the Nation's Report Card; NCES Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46 (graduation rates). Each item links to its own source. All sources, how items are checked.
What does this page lead to?
- US Map (Domestic Intelligence): States with more adults holding degrees tend to have higher median incomes and lower unemployment; the page sets education beside each state's economy as an association, not proof of cause. (moves the same way; years; economy scale) Source: Census ACS table B15003 (educational attainment).
- Well-being (Domestic Intelligence): Schools are the largest item in most state and local budgets, so enrolment and per-pupil spending move those budgets and the property taxes that fund them. (moves the same way; yearly; economy scale) Source: Census Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances.
- Labor Market (Macro): Public schools are the largest group of government employers, so enrolment and school budgets move local government payrolls. (moves the same way; yearly; economy scale) Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Degrees & Colleges (Education): High-school graduation rates and test results set how many students are ready for college, the pipeline the Degrees page counts. (moves the same way; years; sector scale) Source: NCES Digest of Education Statistics, table 219.46 (graduation rates).
What feeds this page?
- Religious Organizations (Domestic Intelligence): Most U.S. private-school students attend religious schools, so where congregations are dense, more children are taught outside the public schools counted on State Education. (either way, depending on the cause; years; sector scale) Source: 2020 U.S. Religion Census, Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (© 2022 ASARB, all rights reserved).
- Education Compared (Education): PISA ranks the U.S. as one country while NAEP shows wide gaps between states; the state page shows where the national average comes from. (either way, depending on the cause; years; economy scale) Source: NAEP, the Nation's Report Card (NAEP Data Service).